GAME INFRASTRUCTURE + STUDIO TOOLS
Build and release systems that keep AA studios shipping.
Merlin Mines designs Unreal Engine build pipelines, Perforce automation, recoverable builder fleets, and practical studio utilities. Studios get this capability without building a large internal platform team.
Built for teams shipping complex games on demanding schedules.
Make release day predictable.
These delivery failures keep AA game teams from shipping with confidence.
Builds depend on one person or one machine.
Windows and Linux builders are hard to replace when they fail.
Perforce integration queues block releases.
Caches and artifacts are mixed together, so provenance is unclear.
Client and server builds drift out of sync.
DCC and content issues reach cook or package too late.
Production Stability + AWS Spend Optimization
Stabilize the production systems around your game with a discovery-led plan and practical operating model.
- Deployment reliability, observability, and incident readiness
- Safe cost optimization
- Runbooks and operational systems your team can maintain
Post-Acquisition Infrastructure Transition
Take control of inherited build, delivery, and production systems without losing operational continuity.
- Inventory and control of critical assets
- Access and credential reset, security hardening
- CI/CD continuity and verification testing
- Handoff documentation and runbooks
Game Infrastructure + Build Engineering
Make game delivery predictable with build, source-flow, builder, artifact, and content systems designed to recover under pressure.
- Reproducible Windows/Linux builds for clients and dedicated servers
- Perforce source-flow automation, including RoboMerge and review boundaries
- Elastic builders, shared caches, and artifact traceability
- DCC/content validation gates and practical studio utilities
- Horde and custom build-system solutions
Discovery-led, outcome-driven.
We start with discovery to map your build and release path, confirm priorities, identify risks, and define success criteria. Then we deliver in one of three ways:
A fixed-scope build or platform project
An ongoing game-infrastructure partnership
Embedded build, release, or platform capacity
Build inputs, worker baselines, and release paths made explicit instead of depending on hidden machine state
Builder and delivery failures given clear ownership, replacement paths, and operating runbooks
Artifacts, source revisions, and client-server compatibility connected through an explicit promotion boundary
Predictable builds. Clearer release ownership. Less manual recovery.
We work with the studio leaders accountable for the systems that get a game from source to release.
AA studio CTOs and VPs of Engineering protecting a critical delivery path
Technical Directors aligning engine, content, and build systems
Build, release, and platform leads who need recoverable pipelines and clearer ownership
Production and studio operations leaders reducing manual handoffs and release friction
Frequently Asked Questions
AA studio CTOs, VPs of Engineering, Technical Directors, and build, release, or platform leads who need a delivery system to become more predictable.
Yes. The first step is to map the current delivery path and decide what should be stabilized, changed, or left alone.
No. The right answer may be to improve the existing system, define cleaner boundaries, or build the missing utility around it.
We can assess where Horde fits, plan its integration with the surrounding delivery path, or design a custom build system when the studio's requirements call for one. Discovery verifies the scope before any platform recommendation.
A short discovery conversation, an owner for the delivery path, and enough read-only visibility to map the relevant system boundaries.
Where does your delivery path break under pressure?
From builds and source flow to builders, artifacts, and release handoffs, we'll help you map the weak links and choose the next practical fix.